


The Spark Of The Nemeton

by DerekHaleGirl97



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Always Female Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Stiles, Eventual Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, F/M, Mentioned Jennifer Blake, Nemeton, Pre-Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Prequel, Sacrifices, Scott is a Bad Friend, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles-centric, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 04:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10631997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerekHaleGirl97/pseuds/DerekHaleGirl97
Summary: Stiles slowly turns the notebook upside down, the branches of the tree were now the roots and Stiles can only think of the one place where Jennifer could have taken them.“I know where they are…” Stiles turns to Lydia. “It's the Nemeton.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a prequel to a story I've been working on for a while. I'm about halfway done writing it, but I know it won't be for a few months until I can post it. 
> 
> Consider this an origin story to how Stiles comes to gaining her awesome Spark powers. Of course, it's going to be a different kind of Spark that I had originally thought of in my early times of joining the fandom.
> 
> Backstory: I had never heard of Sterek until a friend of mine had demanded that I use Tyler Hoechlin and Dylan O'Brien instead of Robert Patterson in a Twilight Fan Fic (It was gonna be a retelling, but instead of Bella, I was going to use her genderswap version, Beau.) Of course, I've never heard of the actors before until I had to look them up and my friend told me that they're a part of a ship called Sterek. I legit totally thought it was canon, and even tried to look up some scenes for some inspiration until I realized that Stiles and Derek weren't actually a thing on the show... I honestly was disappointed, but nonetheless bought a one-way ticket on the S.S. Sterek. Ever since then, I have never looked back. (And I never got to write that Twilight Fan Fic, but I honestly blame my friend for that.)
> 
> Also, even though they are mentioned in this fic, Erica and Boyd are alive. Just seriously distrust Allison.

The lights flickered within the small space of the elevator. It didn’t do much to help Stiles calm her ragged breath. She felt her heart beating against her chest, raging to get out, as she kneeled over Derek’s unconscious body. Her palms felt numb as she continuously slapped across his face. Despite how much force she puts in, how much energy, or how high she raises her hand, nothing seemed to be enough to wake Derek up.

“Derek!” Her hand flies, smacking his face once more. The lights had flicked off as her hand painfully made impact. “Derek, come on!”

She doesn’t know she’s yelling at this point. Stiles knows she’s pleading, begging the supposed Alpha to wake the fuck up right now. She feels like crying, but she’s too freaked out to produce tears. Scott’s gone, and he usually gets her to calm down. Her Dad is… somewhere… and the only person she can really trust right now is lying unconscious on the ground.

Stiles slaps him again, then takes the collar of his shirt and shakes him. When he doesn’t respond to that, she tries slapping again. She should know it’s useless at this point, but she can’t find it in her to stop. She is on the edge of a panic attack and the only thing that would calm her down is if something goes right. Something, for instance, waking up Derek Hale so he could do something about this shitty mess they were in. Something. Anything. Hell, all he needed to do was wake up!

Stiles lifts up her hand one last time, holding it in the air for a moment before clenching it into a fist. If slapping wasn’t going to do shit. Maybe the second method will help.

Before her fist could reach his face, she could see the quick snap of his eyes opening, then feels a strong hand grip her arm, stopping her hand just inches from his face. Derek’s eyes were staring at her hand for a moment before they flicked to meet with her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, both nearly gasping for air at the sudden stillness. Derek kept a hold on her arm, almost as if he were to let go, then her hand hit his face.

Still, in that moment, Stiles felt like she could breathe again.

Derek’s eyes moved away from hers, looking around the room in search of something before he looked back at her.

“Where is she?” Derek asks, voice breathy and weak.

“Jennifer?” Stiles clarifies and Derek slightly nods, still waiting for an answer. “Gone, with Scott’s Mom.”

Stiles was somewhat surprised to see the baffled look on his face. “She took her?”

“Yeah,” Stiles replies angrily. “If that’s not enough of a kick to the balls, Scott left with Deucalion.”

Derek’s eyes widen in shock.

“So, we’ve got to get you out of here. The police are coming right now, and we got to get you the hell out of here.” Stiles takes Derek’s arm and lifts him up as much as she can. Her body obviously remembers the two hundred pounds of weight because she managed to at least get him sitting back up.

“Whoa,” Derek stops Stiles, partly from the sudden head rush he felt. “What about Cora?”

Of course, Derek would still be worried about his sister. Above all else.

“She’s with Isaac and Peter. Just go, I’ll catch up.” She is able to pick Derek up back on his feet, then pushes him towards the exit.

“Wait, what about you?” Derek frowns, grasping on tightly onto her arm.

“I’m going to stay back and hold off the cops,” Stiles informs him. “Hopefully that should by you guys some time to get out of here.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Derek asks, worry clear in his eyes.

“I’ll be fine.” Stiles lies, and she knows he can hear it. “Just go. Get Cora and go.”

Stiles turns away and starts rushing towards the entrance of the hospital.

“I’m sorry…” Derek grabs onto her hand before she got out of his reach.

“Apologize later, okay? Just go and make sure your family is okay.” Stiles nods to him.

Derek nods, then reluctantly let go of her hand and takes off to the back exit.

**

Stiles follows Allison and her Dad into their apartment. After everything that’s happened, Allison had offered Stiles a place to stay for the night. Mostly due to the fact that Stiles really didn’t have any place to go. She didn’t want to go home, not until she was able to find her Dad and bring him home, and right now Stiles feels like she should kiss her childhood home goodbye and prepare for those horrible foster care systems she always hears about. They haven’t been able to reach Scott, since he became Deucalion’s Padawan of the dark side, or heard from him since he left.

“The word is guardian, Allison. More than anyone, you know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to lately.” Chris tells his daughter as he leads the two girls to his office.

“But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father. That's not a coincidence.” Allison argues.

“Yeah, I'd also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator doors. That kind of felt like a warning to me.” Stiles informs him.

“I think it might be Morrell. She knows a lot more than she lets on, and she might even be trying to help us.” Allison offers.

“Well, she needs to get on that a lot faster, okay?” Stiles retorts. “Seeing as how the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away.”

Stiles goes to one of the chairs in the office and slumps into it. She feels utterly exhausted from everything and really all she wants is to go home and pretend this is all just some awful nightmare.

“Stiles, don't give up hope,” Chris tells her, seeing how much this whole situation is weighing on her.

“They could already be dead,” Stiles says tiredly. When she looks up, Chris can see the worn out look in her eyes. Like she’s already lost hope. Maybe she has since the only person she had hoped would stick through this with her had left her for a pack of Alphas. Right now, she needed her best friend, and he wasn’t even there.

“I don't think so,” Chris says thoughtfully. “There's something about Jennifer's tactics. It's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place.”

“And you're one of them.” Allison points out.

“Then let's not wait around to see the next move.” Chris quickly pulls out his map from under the desk, spreading it out over the desk. “Everything she's done has been on a telluric current, so Melissa and the sheriff have to be somewhere on one of those currents, right?” Chris looks up to see Allison following along, but when he turns to Stiles, she wasn’t looking at the map. Stiles was looking at her hands with this far off look on her face. Her shoulders were sagged like she was already accepting defeat. “Stiles, if we're gonna find them, we need your help.”

“You seriously want to go after her?” Stiles asked incredulously, slowly looking up at Argent. “I mean, what if she just takes you like the others, huh? No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?”

Chris pulls out a gun, then loads it with ammo before setting it off with a click.

“I'm carrying a .45. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off.” He sets it down on the desk, before leaning forward to look Stiles in the eye. “We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need both of you.”

Stiles looks down for a moment, fighting the lump in her throat. She wants to say that it’s impossible. That there was no way they could find them before Jennifer kills them. She never waited to kill any of the other victims before, so why would her Dad and Scott’s Mom be any different?

She lets out a heavy sigh, hating to admit that Chris was right. Stiles is not going to just sit around and wait to hear the news about finding her Dad’s body. Dammit to hell, she swears on her mother’s grave that she isn’t going to stop trying to find her Dad. No matter the costs.

Stiles looks back up at Chris, seeing him patiently waiting for her answer.

“Where do we start?”

**

Stiles wishes she can say she’s never going to trust an Argent again.

As it turns out, Chris’ real plan was to get himself captured by Jennifer, literally handing himself over to her on a silver platter. Now, not only does Stiles feel betrayed, but she also felt like her world was falling apart.

Standing in the middle of the hallway, Stiles felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her throat had closed up on her and she was gasping, desperately trying to suck in the air that wouldn’t come. While the corridor was bustling with students on their way to their next class, the world was disappearing around Stiles. She could hear Lydia talking to her, but her voice was muffled as if she was underwater. Stiles kept seeing flashes in her mind. Of her mother’s gravestone, a casket, the black dress she still has buried deep in her closet.

Stiles let out a desperate gasp, almost like a sob as she turns to Lydia. Lydia was barely out of focus, but she could see the worry etched on her face.

“Stiles? What’s wrong?” Lydia asks her, trying to get Stiles to look at her. Stiles was panting now, sweat lighting coating her face as she tries to look at her.

“I think I’m having a panic attack.” Stiles chokingly lets out, her hands starting to visibly shake.

Now worry turned to concern as Lydia grips onto Stiles tightly, then drags her to the girl’s locker room. However, the distressed teen could barely move, despite her shaking so violently. Lydia literally had to drag Stiles into the locker room, then pushes her inside while making sure no one had noticed them.

“Okay Come on. Come on.” Lydia takes Stiles to the back of the locker room where Stiles collapses to the ground because her legs could no longer hold her.

Stiles could see the room spinning around her, making her already frantic mind more dizzy and unfocused.

“Just try and think about something else, anything else.” Lydia urges, unsure of how to help Stiles.

“Like what?” Stiles pants out, having to close her eyes to stop the room from spinning.

“Uh, happy things.” Lydia offers frantically. “Good things. Uh, friends, family.”  Stiles sends Lydia a glare. “Oh, I mean... not family.”

“Oh, God.” Stiles gasps. Just thinking about her Dad was already making her feel light headed.

“Okay, uh, just... Try and slow your breathing.” Lydia tries.

“I can't.” Stiles sobs. “I can't.” She starts hyperventilating as she cries. “I shouldn’t have told him… I knew it was going to get him killed. God, I should have never told him.”

“Shh, shh.” Lydia tries to sooth, bringing Stiles into a tight hug. “Stiles, it’s going to be okay. Shh, everything is going to be okay.”

“It’s all my fault. Everything that’s happened is because of me.” Stiles sobs, clutching onto Lydia. “None of this would have happened if I just stayed home that night. Scott wouldn’t be forced into joining the Alphas and my Dad wouldn’t even be sacrificed.”

Lydia wasn’t sure what Stiles means. She must be talking about when Scott was bitten. She isn’t sure what happened, but she knows Stiles was partly the reason why Scott became a werewolf.

“Don’t blame yourself, Stiles, okay?” Lydia tries to sooth her, gently running her fingers through her hair hoping it would calm her down. “You didn’t know any of this was going to happen. This is something you don’t have control over.”

“I can’t lose them, Lyds.” Stiles sobs, slowly calming down. “They’re the only family I got. I can’t lose anyone else.”

“And you won’t,” Lydia says sternly, getting Stiles to finally look at her while wiping away some tears. “Because we’re going to find them. We’ll get your Dad and Scott back.”

“How?” Stiles says weakly, eyes still filled with tears.

“We’ll find a way, okay?” Lydia stares into Stiles’ eyes. “We always find a way.”

Stiles nods and Lydia brings her back into a hug.

“Thanks.” Stiles sniffs. “Sorry I freaked out on you.”

“It’s okay,” Lydia assures Stiles, tightening her arms a bit. “Sometimes you just need to let it out. You can’t be like Derek and hold it all in. Maybe you should sign up for a few sessions with a guidance counselor.”

“Yeah…” Stiles chuckles a little as they break apart and Stiles leans against one of the locker doors. Then it hits her and Lydia can see the frown appear on Stiles’ face while she thinks.

“What is it, Stiles?” Lydia asks, not liking the look on her face.

“Morrell.”

**

Stiles and Lydia barge into Morrell’s office. They look around to see if they could find her but only see another girl sitting in front of Morrell’s desk.

“Are you here for Ms. Morrell?” Stiles asks her. She swears she’s seen this girl before, but can’t put her finger on it.

“No, I thought this was gym class.” The girl replies with sarcasm.

“Sweetheart, we're not in the mood for funny,” Lydia retorts. “Do you know where she is?”

“If I did, I wouldn't be waiting here for 20 minutes. So how about you two back out the door and wait your turn?”

“We're not here for a session.”

“Well, I am. And I've got some serious issues to work on.”

“Hey, wait, wait. You're Danielle.” Stiles finally recognized her. She was at the party the night Heather disappeared. “You're Heather's best friend.”

“I _was_ Heather's best friend,” Danielle replies sadly. “We've been working on that issue three times a week.”

“Hold on, did you say Ms. Morrell's 20 minutes late?” Lydia asks, seeming to have caught onto something.

“And I don't know why either. She's always on time.”

Lydia frowns at this, then turns to Stiles.

“I was seeing her at the beginning of the semester. She was never late.”

“Then she's not late. She's missing.” Stiles concludes.

“What if we're not the only ones who think she knows something?” Lydia stares at Stiles in wonder.

“Then I want to know what she knows.” Stiles quickly goes to Morrell’s desk, pulling out one of the drawers and looking through the files she kept there.

“What are you doing?” Danielle leans forward, trying to see what Stiles was looking through.

“Trying to find her,” Stiles replies, keeping her eyes on the files, hoping to find something that could lead them to where Morrell could be.

“Those files are private.” Danielle reminds her.

“Yeah, she's kind of right,” Lydia adds, watching Stiles in bewilderment.

“That one's yours.” Stiles pulls out a file and hands it to Lydia.

“Let me see that.” She takes the file, then looks through it. She sets it down while looking at the notes, completely ignoring the copied picture of the tree.

Stiles looks up for a moment, then notices the picture.

“Wait, Lydia, that's your drawing.”

Lydia glances at the photo. “Yeah, I know. It's a tree.”

“Yeah, good too.” Danielle compliments.

“Thank you,” Lydia tells her out of gratitude.

“No. But that's the same one, though.” Stiles informs her, quickly getting back to her feet.

“Same as what?” Lydia stares at Stiles in confusion.

“The same one I always see you drawing in class.”

“It's a tree. I like drawing trees.” Lydia tries to brush it off.

“No, but it's the exact same one.” Stiles pulls the paper out of Lydia’s hand and shows her the photo. “Don't you see?”

Lydia stares at it, but Stiles can see the unconvinced look on her face.

“Give me your bag.” Stiles quickly grabs onto the strap of Lydia’s purse, then digs through it until she finds her notebook. She opens up to the first page, then sets it down for Lydia to see. “There, see?”

Lydia stares at the notebook, even as Stiles moves it to the side so they could compare the two drawings. The trees looked exactly the same. Of course, the other drawing was a photocopy of that page. While Lydia was wondering why Morrell would make a copy of her drawing, Stiles quickly turns the page to show the same drawing, but was drawn in pencil and was slightly smaller. Still, it was the same _exact_ tree.

Stiles turns the page again to reveal two smaller drawings, but having the same tree. She kept turning the pages, all of them drawn in different sizes and ink, but it was the _same_ tree. The same lines, the same detail. They were all copies of the same drawing, all of which were made by Lydia, who had the shocked look on her face as if she was seeing this notebook for the first time.

Danielle looked to be equally as shocked and possibly more freaked out by this discovery.

“Okay, you can have my session.” She quickly gathers her things and hastily leaves the room. “You got bigger issues.”

“What is this?” Lydia gasps, now extremely terrified of what it could mean. It was obvious that she doesn’t even recall drawing the exact same tree, and she was beginning to freak out.

Stiles stares at the pages, wondering the same thing. Why would Lydia have drawn the same thing over and over again? She thinks back to all the other times Lydia had done something without her subconsciously knowing about it. All those times usually ended with her finding dead bodies, but what would this have to do with a tree? She thinks for a moment, then the realization hits her.

Stiles slowly turns the notebook upside down, the branches of the tree were now the roots and Stiles can only think of the one place where Jennifer could have taken them.

“I know where they are…” Stiles turns to Lydia. “It's the Nemeton.”

“What?” Lydia stares at Stiles, unsure of what that means.

“That's where she's keeping them. It has to be.” Stiles quickly leaves the room, Lydia following right behind her. “Come on, we need to get to-,”

Just as Stiles and Lydia enter the corridors of the school, Stiles can hear her name being called at the end of the hall.

“Stilinski!”

Both girls turn to see Agent McCall walking towards them. Stiles makes a noise of distaste before turning to Lydia.

“Go to Derek, okay?” Stiles quickly tells her. “He and Peter have been there before, so they’ll know where it is. Tell them it’s the root cellar, alright? They’ll know.”

Lydia nods and reluctantly leaves while Stiles turns to face McCall. He is already standing behind her, watching her suspiciously.

“Did you know your dad's car is in the school parking lot and has been since last night?”

“No. What does that mean?” Stiles asks, trying to play stupid.

“It means he's officially missing.”

**

Agent McCall had taken Stiles into an empty classroom. He’s been questioning the teen, but Stiles has done her best trying to avoid answering the questions. McCall is quickly becoming impatient with her.

“Stiles, why am I getting the feeling you know something that could help us find your dad?”

“If I did, why would I _not_ tell you?” Stiles questions him.

“If it meant helping your dad, why wouldn't you?

“So, you're asking me to tell you what I wouldn't not tell you?”

“First, I have no idea what you just said.” McCall shakes his head, then he looks Stiles in the eye. “Second, how about you just help me help you?”

“Well, I don't know how to help you help me tell you something that would help you if I don't know it.:

“Are you doing this on purpose?” McCall frowns at her.

“I don't know anything, okay? Can I just go?”

“Where are your other friends?” McCall quickly asks her, not buying her bullshit.

“You mean Scott?” Stiles asks, raising a brow at him questioningly.

“I mean Scott. I mean Isaac Lahey,” He looks at his notepad for the other names, “Allison Argent, these twins Ethan and Aiden. I've been told your whole little clique didn't show up at school today.”

“I don't have a clique.” Stiles corrects him, her voice was barely above a whisper.

Agent McCall rolls his eyes at this.

“Stiles, come on. There's been a pretty disturbing amount of violent activity in this county in the last few months, several murders tied to this school. I don't know what's going on here, but it's serious. And... “ He looks at her and notices that she wasn’t looking at him. “Hey.” He says harshly bringing her attention back to him. “Your dad is missing.”

Stiles sucks in a shaky breath, biting her lip as she looks up at him. “You don’t think I don’t know that? You think that I’m not worried about where he is? Why he hasn’t come back home, or answered my calls or text?” Stiles stands up and looks at McCall dead in the eye. “If I knew anything, I wouldn’t even tell you about it because of how much of an asshole you’ve been to my best friend.”

Agent McCall sighs, then stands up from where he sat on the desk.

“Fine. But I don't want you going home alone. You have someone you can stay with tonight?”

“She's with me.” A new voice calls, making both Stiles and McCall turn to see Deaton standing at the entrance of the classroom.

Deaton smirks at McCall while Stiles sends him a grateful smile.

**

Later that evening, Allison, Isaac, and Lydia all meet Stiles and Deaton at the clinic. After visiting Derek and Peter, Lydia informed Stiles that they couldn’t remember where it was. Apparently, Derek’s Mom had erased its location from their memories to keep them from going back there after realizing how dangerous it was. (That and Stiles figured it had something to do with the whole Paige incident). Still, they were back to square one.

If they didn’t know where the Nemeton was, then they won’t be able to find the Sheriff, Argent, and Melissa.

“It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even on the axis of two or where they all intersect. I just know it's where Derek took Paige to die.

“My dad and Gerard were there once,” Allison tells them. “But Gerard said it was years ago, and he couldn't remember where it was. And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now.

“Yeah, mine either.” Stiles sighs, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

“Then how do we find this place?” Isaac asks from the back of the room.

“There might be a way,” Deaton ponders, “But it's dangerous.” He turns to look at the teens. “We're gonna need Scott.”

Stiles finally manages to message Scott, telling him to meet them in the Preserve. It doesn’t take long for them to find him in the woods. Stiles and Deaton wait by the jeep while Scott emerges from the woods.

“How'd you guys find out?” Scott asks them once he arrived.

“Lydia,” Stiles replies, keeping her arms crossed over her chest. “You?”

“Morrell,” Scott answers, looking at Stiles with a guarded look on his face. “None of the other alphas know where it is either.”

“So, if this works, are you gonna tell them?” By the tone of her voice, Scott can tell that Stiles is pissed at him and she had every right to be.

“I can't stop Jennifer without them,” Scott admits, turning away from her eyes.

Stiles bites her lip, taking a step away from him as she looks at the ground.

“How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?” Deaton tells them, knowing that there wasn’t time for their teen drama.

“What's the plan?” Scott turns to Deaton.

“Essentially, you, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents.”

“We die for them?” Scott asks, looking terrified of the idea.

“But he can bring us back,” Stiles assures him, but then turns to Deaton with uncertainty. “You can... you can bring us back, right?”

“You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?” Deaton reminds her and Stiles nods. “If it goes right, the three of you will be dead for a few seconds, but there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the Nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet. It attracts the supernatural, the kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill the pages of a bestiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon.”

“Doesn't sound any worse than anything we've already seen.” Stiles shrugs.

“You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see.”

“Is that it?” Scott asks, seeing the hesitation in Deaton’s eyes.

“No. It'll also have an effect on the three of you.” He tells them grimly. “You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it every day for the rest of your lives. It'll be a kind of a darkness around your heart, and permanent, like a scar.”

“Like a tattoo,” Scott whispers.

**

Back at the clinic, Deaton and Lydia were preparing three large tubs with water and ice, as well as adding herbs like spearmint and lavender. Stiles, Allison, and Scott come into the room, carrying objects in their hands. Once Deaton finished dumping the last bag of ice, he turns to the others.

“All right. What did you bring?” Deaton looks at them, then takes notice of what Allison was holding. “Is that an actual silver bullet?”

 “My dad made it.” Allison looks at the bullet. “It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code.

“Scott?” Deaton turns to him.

“My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital.” Scott holds up the old watch. “She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked.

“Um, I got my dad's badge.” Stiles looks at the badge. Suddenly it felt heavy in her hand. “Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. Still doesn't look great.”

“Well, it doesn't need to look good if it has meaning.” Deaton reminds her and Stiles nods.

She looks at the badge again, running her thumb over the ruined surface. She remembers the day her Dad got it. That was probably the happiest day of his life, and she honestly hasn’t seen him that happy since.

“Okay, the three of you will get in.” Deaton starts explaining. “Each of us will hold you down until you're essentially... Well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone that has a strong connection to you, a kind of emotional tether.”

Isaac huffs out a breath before making her way to Allison, but Deaton stops him.

“Isaac... You go with Stiles.”

Stiles turns to him, giving him a questioning look. “What? Why?”

“Let’s just say he’s the closest you’ll be to your emotional tether,” Deaton explains, as always, being cryptic about it.

“I’m guessing that’s all the answer I’ll get?” Stiles asks and he nods. “Okay then… let’s do this.”

Stiles, Allison, and Scott took off as many layers as they could manage. Both Stiles and Allison undoing their hair and pulling off their shirts until they were in nothing but a tank-top. When Stiles steps into the water, she gasps at how cold it was. She turns to Isaac and he gives her a tentative nod. Stiles takes in a deep breath before climbing in the rest of the way into the tub.

She began to shiver violently, slowly letting herself sink into the water. The ice water was burning on her skin. She felt every cell in her body painfully numb out before the cold stopped bothering her as much. She sinks in deeper, letting herself be submerged in the water until she was just a head floating on the water. The others followed suit until they were all shivering from the cold.

“By the way, um,” Stiles turns to Scott, bringing his attention on her. “If I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town.”

Scott frowns, then turns away in shock.

Stiles turns to look at Allison, giving her a slight nod. Then she looks back at Scott, who in turn had gone to look back at her. They stare at each other for a moment, saying a lot of things without even speaking a word. Scott gives her a nod, she nods back, and they both look away. Stiles can feel Isaac’s hands grasping onto her shoulders, and for some odd reason, she feels comforted. She knows it wasn’t coming from Isaac, but she couldn’t pinpoint where. Instead, she sucks in a deep breath and lets herself be pushed under the water.

Soon, all Stiles could hear was the sound of water covering her ears. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel herself slipping into darkness. Her heart was slowing down, yet she felt at peace as the abyss began to swallow her whole.

Before Stiles slipped away, she felt what could only be a large, familiar warm hand grasping onto hers tightly.

**

Instead of darkness, there was only light. Stiles felt like she was waking up, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she realized that she needed air.

She jolts up, escaping the confines of the water as she gasps for air. She takes a moment to regain her breath before looking around to see that she wasn’t alone. Beside her, like they had been before, were Scott and Allison. Stiles looked around the room as she slowly climbed out of the tub, feeling the water drip into a puddle of water at her feet. They were in a large, spacious room that looked to go on for miles. It was all white, and it didn’t appear to have any exits, doors, or windows. Just a plain, white empty room.

When Stiles turned around, she noticed what looked like a tree stump in the distance. Without uttering a word to Scott or Allison, Stiles began making her way to the stump, feeling it pull her forward like a magnet. The others followed, all staring at the stump in a trance-like state. This must be the Nemeton.

Or, what’s left of it.

They finally reach the stump, and Stiles was the first to come towards it. She stares at the rings, then turns to look at Scott, watching him as he pulls the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the tattoo. She remembers Derek asking him what it meant, but Scott wasn’t really sure. He said he had traced it with his fingers. Stiles looks at the rings again, feeling like maybe it was all connected somehow.

Stiles reaches her hand out, slowly placing the palm of her hand against the rings.

**

Scott opens his eyes and he finds himself out in the middle of the woods. He looks around, wondering where Stiles and Allison had gone before he hears someone grunting. Scott follows the noise, wondering through the trees until he comes face to face with his younger self.

The other Scott had longer hair, wearing the burgundy sweater and holding his phone out like a flashlight. He looked damp and muddied from the rain, as well as tired looking. The other Scott looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to do something.

“You can’t change the past, Scott.” His younger self tells him. “No matter how much you want to, it won’t make things better. But you know what you can change?”

Scott shakes his head at him.

“Yourself. Embrace who you are now. You aren’t the same person as you were yesterday. And you won’t be the same person tomorrow.” The younger Scott drops his phone and behind him, a pair of glowing red eyes appears.

Scott stares at them, slowly backing away until he bumps into something. He turns around and looks down to see the Nemeton.

**

Allison wonders through the woods, trying to find Scott and Stiles. She looks around, trying to find her way through the darkness, but she could hardly see anything. Voices break through the darkness and Allison recognizes them. It sounds like herself and… her Mom…

Allison quickly rushes through the brush, trying to catch a glimpse of her Mom. She can’t seem to find her. The faster she runs, the further her Mom’s voice becomes. She runs into a clearing but stops when she sees herself, or a younger version of herself.

The other version was wearing all back, carrying a bow and already has an arrow drawn. Allison takes a step back once the other version aims the arrow at her. For a moment, she thinks the other Allison was going to shot at her like she did in her hallucination at Lydia’s party, but instead, the other Allison aims at something else, then fires. Allison hears an agonized cry and she turns to see Erica and Boyd. The arrow had taken Erica down by hitting her leg. She was staring at the other Allison, face wet with tears as she tries to crawl away from the other Allison.

Allison tries to move, to stand between Erica and herself, but she can’t. Instead, the other Allison turns to smirk at her, an evil glint in her eye that she’s seen in both her aunt and her grandfather.

“No matter how hard you want to forget, you can’t erase what you did, Allison.” The other Allison told her. “You say you protect people, but did you protect them?” She nods her head towards Erica and Boyd. “No. You wanted to shoot them dead. Just because they were Derek’s betas. Just because you blamed him for what happened to your Mom, even though he only tried to protect Scott. Don’t forget, Allison. Murder runs in the family. It’s up to you on how they remember you, who you really are.”

With that, the other Allison aims her arrow again, this time right at Erica’s heart.

Allison shakes her head, backing away until she bumps into something. She turns around and finds the Nemeton.

**

When Stiles opens her eyes, she finds herself standing in the middle of the preserve. She looks around in confusion, trying to see where Scott and Allison went before turning around to meet face to face with the person she hasn’t seen in a long time.

“M-Mom?” Stiles’ voice cracks, eyes widening at the face of her Mother. Her Mom, who has been dead for years.

Claudia Stilinski smiles warmly at her, reaching out to take Stiles’ hands in her own. “My little mischievous fox… Look at how much you’ve grown.”

“Mom…” Tears glazed over Stiles’ eyes, her throat tightens, and a sob escapes her chest as she stares at her Mom in disbelief. “W-What are you doing here? Am I dead?”

“Not yet, Mischief,” Claudia assures her, smoothing out Stiles’ damp hair. “Your time will come, but I can promise you that you have a full life ahead of you.”

“Oh, Mom.” Stiles wraps her arms around Claudia, trying to fight the tears that threaten to spill. “I’ve missed you so much. Things haven’t been the same since you left. I just want to tell you everything that’s been happening, and-and-,”

“I know.” Claudia holds onto Stiles, rubbing a soothing hand on her back. “I know about Scott being a werewolf and about the supernatural.”

“H-How?” Stiles pulls back and watches her in disbelief.

“I’ve never truly been gone, Sweetheart.” Claudia runs her fingers through Stiles’ hair. “I’ve always been there when you needed me, and always will be. For both you and your father.”

“Dad…” Stiles whispers, suddenly remembering why she was here. “Mom, I wish I could stay, but I have to find Dad. He’s in trouble and… and…” Stiles sobs, tears streaking down her face as her lips tremble. “I don’t want to lose both of you.”

“You won’t,” Claudia assures her, wiping away some of her tears. “I know you can find him, Mischief. You always had the ability to find him. You just need to remember that you’re not just any ordinary human. Don’t let werewolves, kanimas, or darachs tell you any different.”

“I love you, Mom.” Stiles tears up again. “I never got to say it to you before… but I love you.”

“I know, honey.” Claudia places a hand on Stiles’ cheek. “I love you, too. Just remember that you’re not as ordinary as you think.”

Stiles nods, then Claudia steps away to reveal the Nemeton. Stiles can see that it wasn’t just the Nemeton, but there was someone standing on top of it. She looks up to see Derek standing there, giving her a smile that she’s never seen before and offers her a hand to take. Stiles gives her Mom one last smile before reaching out to take Derek’s hand.

**

Stiles feels her eyes snap open, then jolts up, splashing water around as she gasps for air. She looks around to see that she was back in the Clinic and that Scott and Allison had also been jolted out from the weird limbo they were in. She looked at them in confusion before Deaton and the others rushed into the room.

“Oh, good. You made it back.” Deaton says, sounding relieved. “Did you find out where it was?”

Scott shakes his head. “No…I…I don’t remember anything. I just saw a weird vision… but nothing else.”

“Allison?” Deaton turns to Allison.

Allison shakes her head as well. “The same thing happened to me.”

Both Allison and Scott began climbing out of the tubs. Lydia and Isaac quickly came to their side with towels for them to dry off.

“It should have worked.” Deaton frowns. “All of you should know where the Nemeton is. You gave it some of your life force.”

“Um… guys,” Stiles calls to them, making them all turn to her.

Stiles was still sitting in the tub, staring at her hands as they were encased by electricity flowing from her fingers. When Stiles looks up, her eyes were glowing electric blue, the same color as Derek’s were before he became an Alpha. She looks at them in horror, not understanding what was happening to her.

“What’s happening?” Stiles asked, her voice trembling.

Deaton thinks for a moment, staring at the electricity coming from her hands, then to her eyes. Realization dawns on his face as he begins to stare at Stiles in amazement.

“I think I know why you two didn’t see the Nemeton’s location.” Deaton finally replies.

Scott turns to him in concern, worrying about what this had done to his best friend. “What?”

“Because the Nemeton no longer exists,” Deaton explains. “Whatever remnants it once had, is no longer there. Now, the Nemeton is nothing but an ordinary tree.”

“What does that mean?” Scott frowns.

“It means.” Deaton nods his head towards Stiles. “That you don’t need to find the Nemeton because you already have its spark.”

“Cut it with the cryptic crap, Deaton!” Stiles exclaims, now freaking out. “What the hell is happening to me?”

“It’s not what is happening to you, Stiles. It’s what you have become.” Deaton tells her as calmly as he could manage. “The Nemeton had somehow chosen you to harbinger its life force. Instead of taking from you, it gave you all of its power.”

“Wait, it can do that?” Lydia asked, bewildered.

“Only if its energy was dying out. This town had once been protected by the Nemeton, but when it was cut down, all its energy was absorbed by all those who consumed it. Whatever had been left had transferred into Stiles.”

“What, does that make me the new Nemeton or something?” Stiles asked, finally climbing out of the tub.

“No. Not exactly.” Deaton shakes his head. “You are what many druids call a Spark or The Spark of the Nemeton. You now hold the remnants of a once powerful source of energy. With abilities that only druids like Jennifer could ever dream of.”

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Stiles grabs the towel Lydia handed to her and wraps herself in it.

“For now, you can use it to find your parents,” Deaton informs them. “And I suggest you hurry before Jennifer realizes that she can’t use her source of power anymore.”

“And how exactly do I do that?” Stiles shivers.

“It’s as you suggested before. Follow the current.”

**Author's Note:**

> For those who probably wanted to know what happened next, well, let me summarize that for you.
> 
> Basically, Stiles used her new powers to find the parents, then she got to face off with Jennifer and Deucalion. She kicked their asses by the way, and basically saved the whole town. 
> 
> As for Stiles' relationship with Derek, well you're going to have to find out what happens next once I post my story called, When There Was Me And You.
> 
> To put it simply, it's about Derek getting amnesia after a witch tries to kidnap Stiles, and the pack tries to help Derek get his memories back. Angst ensues, as well as some rather interesting confessions and pinning that has lasted for years. 
> 
> Did I forget to mention that it's based Post-Season 6? 
> 
> Don't forget to leave comments telling me what ya'll think will happen.


End file.
